Justin Halpern

Justin Samuel Halpern (born September 3, 1980) is the American author of the Twitter feed "Shit My Dad Says" and the best-selling book Sh*t My Dad Says. He was also the co-writer and co-executive producer of a CBS television situation comedy series based on the book. His second book I Suck at Girls was published in 2012 and was the basis for the 2014 television show Surviving Jack.

Early life

Halpern grew up in the Point Loma neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States. His father is Jewish and his Italian American mother is Catholic.

Halpern's father Samuel Halpern, M.D. is a doctor of nuclear medicine, now retired, who practiced at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). A blunt-spoken man, he gave memorable, expletive-laden advice and comments to young Justin from childhood onwards. Samuel Halpern has been described as "a profane comic genius," "Lenny Bruce with a stethoscope," and "a scatological Socrates showering rough wisdom on his son."

Halpern attended Point Loma High School, where he was a pitcher on the school's CIF-champion baseball team. He also played baseball briefly at San Diego State University, where he graduated in 2003. He then headed to Hollywood to seek work as a screenwriter; there he wrote screenplays and worked as a waiter, but success as a screenwriter eluded him.